Milwaukee Biz Blog

What will future enterprises look like? IBM says fortunes will flow to those who manage accelerated change.

A recent study conducted by IBM of more than 1,000 private and public sector leaders worldwide reveals the enterprise of the future must manage a pace of change that has yet to be experienced by most companies. After reading the study, the single most important conduit to effectively managing this accelerated rate of change, I believe, will be companies' ability to communicate through emerging channels.

CEOs surveyed ranked people skills, market forces and technology as the three external forces with the greatest impact on their organizations. When coupled with the report's "striking findings," which follow, a case can be made for ramping up internal and external communications that support global brand platforms and, simultaneously, brand adaptation to suit culturally diverse markets. 

Organizations are bombarded by change, and many are struggling to keep up. Eight out of 10 CEOs see significant change ahead, and yet the gap between expected change and the ability to manage it has almost tripled since the last Global CEO Study in 2006.

The study found 75 percent of companies characterize their approach to change as informal, ad hoc or improvised. I suspect this contributes to their inability to manage change.

CEOs view more demanding customers not as a threat, but as an opportunity to differentiate. CEOs are spending more to attract and retain increasingly prosperous, informed and socially aware customers.

According to the report, customers now have far more sources of information. Fifty-three percent of consumers surveyed said they used the Internet to compare product features and pricing. Twenty-five percent accessed information from a mobile device, and 10 percent sent text messages to friends and family to get input and share product information prior to purchasing.

These percentages are certain to grow as mobile and social media channels become more mainstream. If there is any doubt as to the pending impact of mobile and social media communications among consumers, do a Google search on the latest version of Apple's iPhone. Insiders expect a technological revolution on scale with the introduction of Microsoft Windows.

Nearly all CEOs are adapting their business models - two-thirds are implementing extensive innovations. More than 40 percent are changing their enterprise models to be more collaborative.

Woven throughout the study are words such as collaborative, change, culture, manage, informed, socially aware, and implementing extensive innovations. All of these words indicate a need for effective communication among internal and external stakeholders to facilitate sustainable change throughout the environment in which a company operates.

"The more informed our customers are and the higher their expectation levels, the better we will be positioned to demonstrate our differentiation," one U.S. CEO said in the survey. Many CEOs consider the informed and collaborative customer a chance to justify premium positioning and price.

To achieve this level of collaboration with customers, employees' roles as brand ambassadors becomes all the more important to enterprise success. Company brands represent differentiation and differentiation allows companies to command higher margins. Internally, employees must receive consistent reinforcement of what a brand represents to become an effective ambassador. Then, and only then, can they live the brand in all their interactions. 

Additional insights gained by reviewing the report are worth the effort. We all understand the old adage that indicates the only constant is change. But to manage that change, communication is critical. As you read through the report, determine how your business will handle the increased rapidity of change. 

Karl Robe, APR, leads the public relations practice at Avicom Marketing Communications, which has offices in Waukesha and Milwaukee, Wis., and Montville, N.J. He can be reached at karl.robe@avicomdirect.com.

When disaster strikes, familiar groups rush to the fore. Churches, civic groups and the American Red Cross all are on the scene. Businesses large and small even get involved. And all deserve kudos for recognizing the value of giving back during a crisis. Their efforts provide relief to many in need and advance their standing within the communities in which they operate. Catastrophic events frequently prove human concerns and corporate America can align and benefit one another.

Behemoths such as Miller Brewing and Anheuser-Busch, understand the reputational value gained by helping their neighbors when storms, tornados and floods rush in. Both brewers contributed to the welfare of the flood victims in Wisconsin.

Local companies Wolf Paving and Allen Edmonds also recognized the importance of giving back. Shoe manufacturer Allen Edmonds contributed a percentage of its well-regarded tent sale to flood-damaged Wisconsinites. Wolf Paving, during one of the snowiest winters on record, supplied road salt to communities it served last February when salt was scarce.  

The watchful eye of employees, recruits, prospects, clients, media and other influential groups, however, is fixed on companies throughout the year. For this reason, corporate social responsibility has become a prerequisite to effective business practice.

Most large companies have sustained corporate responsibility initiatives designed to elevate their status, as S.C. Johnson puts it, to become the "neighbor of choice." Year round, these companies work to identify social responsibility efforts that will improve their ability to conduct business. Some would argue that social responsibility efforts are merely window dressing without a direct connection to the bottom line. In its purest form, corporate social responsibility is designed to bring together groups that share a mutual environment. The overarching goal for these campaigns is to identify and overcome points of contention to the satisfaction of all involved. By accomplishing this and reaching out to the groups within this shared environment, companies most definitely pave the way to smoother, more profitable business operations.

Certainly this is great for large corporations, but what about mid- to small-sized companies?

To demonstrate the impact social engagement can have on a company, I will share a story involving one of my colleagues who recently fathered a baby born with Trisomy 18, a defective gene that leaves little hope for survival. In his quest to reach others through social media, he started the Zoe Means Life site, which links to his blog where many parents with children affected by Trisomy 18 have come to share information on why some doctors are lax in working to continue the lives of these children who, in some cases, are living for several years.

As a result of an online social interaction designed to share information about Trisomy 18 through my colleague's personal experiences, our agency received inquiries from public relations and advertising professionals who wanted to work for our agency because of the culture and character of the people.

This illustration really drives home the point that employee recruitment, which is particularly challenging in our market, certainly can benefit from companies and employees who are socially active in bettering the community. And, as we all know, our business is only as good as the people around us.

The value that business provides when disaster strikes is laudable. But if it matters when the need is greatest, I maintain that actively engaging the community in which you conduct business year round will pay dividends in terms of brand loyalty, referrals, regulatory matters, recruiting and more.

Karl Robe, APR, leads the public relations practice at Avicom Marketing Communications, which has offices in Waukesha and Milwaukee, Wis., and Montville, N.J. He can be reached at karl.robe@avicomdirect.com.

This just in … Man shot in downtown Milwaukee … Too many drinks lead to drunken brawl.

Could be any Saturday night in our fair city of beer and brats, right? But this donnybrook has drawn extraordinary attention for its proximity to Riversplash, the unofficial kickoff to Milwaukee’s pride- and revenue-producing festival season.

Organizers of Riversplash, which takes place on the Milwaukee River, have a window of opportunity to ensure the event sees its 20th anniversary in 2009. More than anything, they must take immediate, public and ongoing action that demonstrates how things will work differently moving forward.

While every situation is different, damage control typically starts with taking steps to identify what went wrong, what will be changed and what will be done in the future to prevent Riversplash from becoming "Thugland by the Riv."

For politicians, event organizers must give them the cover they need with their constituents to once again support Riversplash. Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.V.) summarizes constituent relationships very well.
"Convince my constituents," he says. "If they’re for you, I’m for you. If they’re against you, there isn’t a way on God’s green earth I’m going to support you."

Part of this constituency includes media and talk show hosts. Event organizers must demonstrate why the story line and commentary should focus on organizers' ability to hold a safe, fun, family event over the past 19 years and what is being done to ensure another 19 years of prosperity.

Sponsors of events like this also are part of the constituency. As of this posting, event sponsor Miller Beer has not yet pulled the drain plug on its support for Riversplash. But rest assured, if steps are not taken to reverse the perception of how this festival "devolved over the years into a drunken brawl," as some have described it, activist groups and other people with an axe to grind will come out against continued sponsorship.

Mayor Tom Barrett and Ald. Bob Bauman said they will be taking a closer look at similar street festivals this year and, in particular, area bars.

If you are an event organizer within a splash of vermouth of Milwaukee, you, too, will be wise to recheck your policies and procedures, as well as your crisis plan.

Karl Robe, APR, leads the public relations practice at Avicom Marketing Communications, which has offices in Waukesha and Milwaukee, Wis., and Montville, N.J.

China impacts every business on the face of the planet. A billion people with the purchasing power of an evolving middle class create an economic frontier for B2B companies supporting the eastward expansion of capitalism.

At a recent China Business Council meeting of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, the overwhelming consensus among business leaders who successfully execute in the communist country is finding a Chinese national you trust.

The ideal person to work with is what's known as a "returnee" to China from study or employment in the United States. Both cultures and business environments are understood thoroughly by this person, allowing a team to be built on the ground in China around deep bilateral knowledge. The biggest mistake companies can make is hiring an American on the ground in China.

But how does one know who to trust? A couple of books have been receiving more attention of late in the quest to answer this question. "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu and "400 Million Customers" by Carl Crow are becoming must-reads for corporate leaders who seek an understanding of the Middle Kingdom.

"Many authorities contend that the Chinese have a genius for misunderstanding which works to their advantage in many lines," Crowe wrote in his still-relevant book published in the 1930s.

Crow also observed, "It appears to be impossible to foresee all the twists and turns that force majeure or the acts of God may take, and they invariably turn out the disadvantage of the party to the contract whose function is to pay the money."

Those attending the China Business Council meeting agreed cause for caution continues today, but echoed the Chinese are "dying to work with us." It's a matter of finding those who understand how to get things done in a culture and business climate very different from capitalist rules of engagement. Though, one lawyer in attendance did say he sees increased willingness to structure and operate business in ways consistent with capitalistic strictures.

Some of the Chinese rules of engagement are outlined by Crow in a recent National Public Radio story.

Crow's recount of business in China is consistent with a culture raised on and indoctrinated for millennia on the strategic philosophies presented in "The Art of War." According to many scholars, this is an extraordinarily important book in Chinese culture and required reading by those who hope to successfully understand the mind of China.

The advice it offers extends beyond war to insights into Chinese philosophy of life. Popular culture continues to leverage Tzu's mastery of strategy through television serializations, comic strips and a growing number of Chinese and English language websites dedicated to spreading his philosophy.

Karl Robe leads the public relations practice for Milwaukee-based Scheibel Halaska Inc., a full-service marketing communications firm. For more information, visit www.insideSH.com.